Looking for some light reading? 350 pages of new MIDI 2.0 specs have just been published

MIDI 2.0 logo
(Image credit: Pentagram/The MIDI Association)

We’re guessing that they’re unlikely to trouble the summer bestseller lists, but the MIDI Association has just announced that it’s now published documents that contain “significantly updated” core specifications for MIDI 2.0. There’s also a brand-new spec for the MIDI 2.0 SMF Clip File.

That might not mean a lot to most of us, but the MIDI Association says that these new specs are the result of many years of volunteer work by its own members and those of the AMEI, and that they run to 350 pages.

It’s said that these core specs “define the architectural foundations for MIDI 2.0 and define minimum requirements for devices to claim MIDI 2.0 compatibility and to apply to use the MIDI Association's MIDI 2.0 logo.”

Anyone who’s interested can download the documents for free from the MIDI Association website. There are also plans to open a MIDI Association Github and fill it with tools and source code that will be available under a permissive MIT licence to all developers.

As many of you will know, MIDI 2.0 has been in the works for several years now, and the latest developments were shown off at the recent 2023 NAMM Show. Roland and Synthogy teamed up to demonstrate MIDI 2.0 High Resolution Velocity using a Mac and the publicly available version of Logic, and there were also working prototypes of both Microsoft and Linux MIDI 2.0 drivers.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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